Utah State University

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Agricultural Experiment Station

8-1938

Bulletin No. 280 - Sinusitis of Turkeys and Its Treatment D. E. Madsen

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AUGUST 1938

BULLETIN 280

AND ITS TREATMENT by

D. E. MADSEN

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION UTAH STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE LOGAN, UTAH

SUMMARY 1. Sinusitis causes considerable loss yearly in the turkey Industry in Utah. The symptoms consist of a watery discharge from the nostrils and eyes followed by a swelling of the face as a result of inflammation and accumulation of mucus in the sinuses.

2. The loss from this disease is occasioned through a pronounced reduction in weight gains of turkeys rather than a high mortality loss. 3. Limited trials showed the disease could be transmitted by inoculation with sinus exudates. 4. Vaccines did not prove successful in control of the disease . 5. Silver-nitrate solution was found far superior to other medicaments as a treatment. Four-percent solution gave slig~1t1y better results than 2 percent. 6. The syringe method of draining and treating the sinus was found superior to the knife method.

Sinusitis of Turkeys and Its Treatment 1 D. E.

MADSE N

2

Description of the D isease Sinusitis has long been recognized as one o'f the barriers to profitable production of chicken products; and with the growth in commercial turkey production in the west its existence in this bird has become increasingly significant. In Utah areas considerable loss is encountered yearly from this disease in turkeys . This loss has prompted some investigations as to what measures may be adopted for its control. The first symptom noted is a watery discharge from the nostrils and eyes and the affected bird shakes its head in an effort to dislodge accumulations of mucus in the nasal passages. There next developes a swelling of the face just below and in front of the eye as a result of inflammation of the infraorbital sinus and the accumulation of mucus in that sinus. One or both sides of the face may become affected. -It was found in one flock where 197 turkeys were affected that 72 percent of the birds had one side only affected while .2 8 percent had involvement of both sinuses. The swellings may vary from slight to nearly the size of a hen's egg. Observation on 142 birds affected on one side only showed that in 9 percent of the cases the disease spread to the other side over a period ranging from 2 to 8 weeks. Sinusitis as seen in the turkey differs from that in the chicken in that the accumulated exudate consists of a slightly turbid or yellowish mucus which has a tendency to remain in a liquid state indefinitely. In the chicken the fluid exudate soon becomes semi-solid and cheesy. According to the author's records, after a few weeks duration, in approximately 10 percent of turkey sinusitis cases, the mucus became cheesy. Sinusitis in turkeys does not interfere with respiration to the extent encountered in chickens. The inflammatory reaction is confined to the sinuses and tissues surrounding the eye with little or no involvement of the mouth and larynx; this results in a low mortality. The economic loss results from low gains which in turn are probably caused by head pains, being bossed by other birds, and, in some cases, interference with eye sight. In this study, 210 turkeys affected in various degrees with sinusitis lContribution from the Department of Animal Pathology, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station. Project 156. Hatch. 2Research professor of animal pathology. Authorized for publication.

4

UTAH AGRICULTURAL EXPERnIEr T STATION BULLETIN

280

were rechecked 25 days later, and 20 percent apparently recovered or at least their involvement was not sufficient to be readily recognized. There is reason to believe, however, that these recovered birds were only mildly affected when first noted: Where definite identification of birds has been made, the spontaneous recovery with medium to pronounced sinus swelling has been extremely rare.

The Eff·e ct of Sinusitis on Weight Gains Mention has already been made that the loss from sinusitis in turkeys is not the result of an appreciable amount of mortality but rather from an inhibition of growth and fattening. An opportunity to study the influence of sinusitis on the weight gains was afforded when the disease occurred among turkeys on a feeding experiment conducted by the Poultry Department of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station. The birds were weighed at weekly intervals but for the purpose of this study the weights of the affected birds are given only during the period they showed sinusitis symptoms (see table 1). Most of the cases occurred in pen 2. An equal number of birds from the same pen, not Table I-Weights and gains of disease-free turkeys and turkeys affected with sinusitis between October 30 and November 20 Bird no.

Sex

Oct. 30 lbs.

1

Nov. 6 lbs.

I' ~in lbs.

elg t 1

Nov. 13/ lbs.

Gain lbs.

/ Nov. 20 / lbs.

Gain lbs.

Pen 2-Birds affected with sinusitis 222 Hen 225 Hen 226 Hen Hen 227 Torn 234 Torn 537 224 Hen Hen 232 Torn 520 Torn 531 Torn 532 Hen 523 Average weekly gain

9.3 9.4 10.7 12.8 14.9 14.1 8.5

9.5 9.1 11.1 12.8 15.4 14.4 8.5

.2 -.3* .4 .0 .5 .3 .0

16.1 11.1

11.5

.4 .19

9.9 8.8 11.5 13 .1 16.1 15 .3 9.0 11.6 15.2 18.1 14.8 12.3

.4 -.3* .4 .3 .7 .9 .5 - .9 * .8 .32

10.3 8.8 11.4 13.2 16.8 15.9 9.0 11.9 16.8' 18.3 15 .3 12.6

.4 .0 -.1* .1 .7 .6 .0 .3 1.6** .2 .5 .3 .38

12.1 10.4 9.2 9.6 10.3 14.3 12.4 16.8 17.0 16.6 18'.3 17.4

.4 .3 .0 .0 .3 .4 .1 .7 .4 .4 .7 1.0 .39

Pen 2-Birds not affected with sinusitis Hen Hen Hen Hen Hen · Hen Hen Torn Torn Torn Torn Torn Avera~e

I

228 233 236 240 369 526 536 535 534 ' 529 231 519 weeklv I!ain

I

11.1 9.3 8.6 8.6 9.1 12.5 11.4 14.9 15.4 14.7 16.2 15.3

11.3 9.5 8.8 9.0 9.5 13.2 11.7 15.8 15.5 15.6 16.8 15.6

.2 .2 .2 .4 .4 .7 .3 .9 .1 .8 .6 .3 .57

11.7 10.1 9.2 9.6 10.0 13.9 12.3 16.1 16.6 16.2 17.6 16.4

*Indicates loss rather than . gain in these cases. **This bird treated November 7.

.4 .6 .4 .6 .5 .7 .6 .3 1.1 .6 .8 .8 .62

SINUSITIS OF TURKEYS

5

affected with sinusItIs was selected at random for controls. It will be noted that during the first two weeks of the disease there was a decided drop in weight gain in the diseased birds as compared with the healthy birds. There was practically no difference in gain between the two groups the week just before slaughter, November 13 to November 20. :five cases of sinusitis in pens 4 and 5 developed as late as approximately November 13 and their average weekly gain for the week November 13 to November 20 was 0.48 pound as compared with 0.81 pound for 11 disease-free controls in the same pen. It is noted in table 1 that bird no. 520 lost weight the first week in which weight was recorded but the following week it gained considerably more than the average gain. This bird was treated with 4 percent silver-nitrate solution on November 7. The combined treatment and existing pathology apparently contributed to this weight loss, but the second week following treatment the weight loss was rapidly regained This was the only bird treated in pen 2 during the course of the experiment. The study shows a combined weight gain of affected turkeys of 57 percent less than that made by the healthy birds during the first two weeks of affliction. This gives evidence that low rate of weight gain is associated with sinusitis. Compared with controls in the same pen the gain of sinusitis birds dropped two-thirds ' the first week of the disease, one-half the second week, and gained approximately the same as the controls in the third week. The above experience would suggest that the disease exerts its greatest influence in retarding gains during the first two weeks, although it is conceivable that the birds of the healthy group had nearly reached their maximum growth by November 13 while the birds .retarded by sinusitis had not yet reached the point in growth and finish where the rate of gain would naturally be reduced. Table 2 shows that birds in thin flesh as a result of sinusitis make rapid gains once a cure is effected. Gains remain low and the individuals remain in thin flesh as long as the sinus remain swollen. Causes of the Disease

Hinshaw3 notes that etiologically, there are two types of sinusitis in turkeys, infectious and nutritional. Each is indistinguishable from the other so far as the sinus involvement is concerned. The one type has been definitely shown by him to be caused by a low intake of vitamin 3Hinshaw, W. R. Diseases of turkeys. Calif. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. 613. 1937.

Table 2-The effect of treatment on weight gai1tS ( pounds) No. of bi rd

Condition of 9inus before treatment*

Date of treatment

22 5

Both 4X

11·25-36

Incision 2 gr. calomel

508

Right 3X

"

"

599

Both 3X

"

"

546

Left 4X

"

"

226

Lett 4X

"

Syringe

571

Bot h 2X

"

"

224

R ight 2X

"

"

234

Left 4X

"

"

575

Both 4X

"

"

Technique of treatment

Date of examination 11 -25

9.1 22 .2 18.0 15 .5 Icc. silver nitrate sol.

11.5 9.2

12'-4

12-18

Net gain in weight (23 days)

Average weekly gain per bird in each group

Slight soft swelling 8.6 3X

Both 2X

pounds

p01mds

10 .2 3X

1.1

22 .6 Both IX

22 .9 Both 2 X

1.9

17 .8 4X

18·.3 4X

24.1 Left 4X Right 2X 18.3 4X

16.1 Hard swelling

16.1 Hard swelling

11.8 Recovered

12.1

9.5 Hard swelling

9.7 Hard swelling 2X 9.0 Hard swelling

11 -27

12-1

Soft swelling

Slight ooft swelling 7.6 3X

7.9 Soft swelling 22 .7 Soft swelling 16.6 Soft swell ing 15.9 Soft swelling 11.5 Soft swelling 9.6 Hal·d swelling

.

9.2

9.0 Hard swelling

9.0 Hard swelling

17.6

17.6 Hard swelling 15 .5

18.0 Hard swelling 15.6

14.9

18.4 Recovered 15.9

0.3

16.5 Recovered slight mucus 13.9

2.4

10.7

1.5

10.3 Recovered Hard swelling slight mucus 20 .0

1.1

I

17.6

1.0

.33

2.4

I --

2.7

.89

*"Both," "left," or "right" refers to the sinuses affected. X refers to the degree of involvement, 4X being pronounced involvement and 1X denoting lesser involvement. 2X and 3X are r espective graduations.

SINUSITIS' OF TURKEYS

7

A. The epidemiology of some outbreaks in the presence of adequate vitaniin A strongly suggests a specific infective agent to be a causitive factor, also. Beach et al